Ethan Spurlin scored 23 points and Brandon Rash had 22 Wednesday as 18th-ranked Transylvania overpowered winless Earlham 89-76 in the Beck Center.
Transy (18-2) shot 61.8 percent from the field en route to its seventh win in a row. The Pioneers maintained a one-game lead over Hanover in the Heartland Conference with a 12-1 mark.
Transy is looking for its first HCAC title, and the right to host the league tournament, since 2009.
Earlham (0-20, 0-13) has lost 36 in a row, dating to last year. The Quakers joined the HCAC last season and are 0-31 in league play.
The previous three Wednesdays, though, Earlham lost by four points, one point and one point.
"I was impressed with Earlham's patience on the halfcourt. ... They made it a game," Transy Coach Brian Lane said. "They've been close on several occasions, and they're going to get one here eventually."
Transy led by 14 late in the first half, but the Quakers cut the gap to 38-30 at the break.
"Inside the three (-point line) in the first half we were 11-for-15. Outside we were 5-for-15," Lane said. "So I said, 'All right, who's the Einstein that can tell me what to do?' And they said we should score inside. I think the percentages once again showed that."
The Pioneers shot 18-for-25 (72 percent) in the second half, going 15-for-20 (75 percent) inside the arc.
Barrett Meyer added 12 points, Chris Owens had 11 and Tate Cox scored 10.
Ashley Hatfield came off the bench to provide nine points and four rebounds.
Spurlin had five rebounds and four assists. Rash added five assists.
Ryan Taylor topped Earlham with 19 points. Justin Barger and Marcus Bledsoe scored 16 each, while Dustin Rusk had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Transy outscored the Quakers 44-16 in the paint.
Earlham shot 55.8 percent (24-for-43), including 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from three-point distance.
Owens' trey at 10:38 gave Transy a 65-48 lead.
The Quakers scored the next seven points to make it a 10-point game with 8:12 left.
The margin was still 10 with less than 4:00 to play, but Spurlin and Rash scored four points each in an 8-2 spurt that made it 84-68 with less than two minutes left.
